A highly recommended favorite from a skilled teacher and curriculum developer who greatly impacted the homeschool community.
Tag Archives: How-To Helps
Things to Do: August 2021
Things to do in August: Wrapping up summer and looking ahead to a more routine existence! Free resources.
7 Scopes & Sequences and Tips for Using Them
Here are 7 handy scopes and sequences, but first a few tips on how to use them.
What Type of Learner Do You Have
People learn things in different ways. Some learn by watching demonstrations. Some learn better with diagrams and charts. Still others learn best by getting in there and doing something. By understanding how our students learn best, we can present new concepts in a more effective way. The first thing you’ll want to do is determineContinue reading “What Type of Learner Do You Have”
Editable Graphic Organizer Templates ~ Free
Organize thoughts, develop the big picture. Free editable graphic organizer templates!
Step-by-Step Guide to Homeschooling {Updated}
Our Step-by-Step Guide was the first thing we published back in 2001 when we started our original HomeHearts site. The guide has been frequently updated, but the principles really haven’t changed. If you are new to homeschooling, take a look. If you have been at this a while, you might find some fresh inspiration! StepContinue reading “Step-by-Step Guide to Homeschooling {Updated}”
3 Simple Summer Tips for Home Tutors
Even if you educate all year long, you may want to keep about one month free over the summer to evaluate what worked, what didn’t work, and what you might want to change about the past year. The summer is a great time to learn from our children what their interests are, to read inspiringContinue reading “3 Simple Summer Tips for Home Tutors”
Things to Do: August
Finish up summer with some summer-fun experiments and units, nature walks, good reads, and good food — while gathering up resources for the new year ahead! Feel the heat. Experiment with watermelons. As you look ahead to next year, consider these Benefits of Home Education (and what to do next)! Learn more about our dollarsContinue reading “Things to Do: August”
The Well-Trained Mind {Review}
Jessie Wise taught three children at home from elementary school through high school; all three completed college degrees and two also completed graduate degrees — including Susan Wise Bauer. Drawing on their combined teaching, homeschool, and educational experiences, they have coauthored The Well-Trained Mind, now in its fourth edition. The authors begin by providing aContinue reading “The Well-Trained Mind {Review}”
For the Children’s Sake ~ Review
For the Children’s Sake is an important read for DIY homeschool moms whose efforts are aimed at something bigger than a generic education for their children. Review.
A Twaddle-Free Education ~ Review
Back in our early days of homeschooling, when the Internet was still getting off the ground, one of the first sources I found for information on Charlotte Mason was Deborah Taylor-Hough. Granted, every Charlotte Mason “expert” has her own bent — and granted, we learn more about Charlotte Mason by reading her in her ownContinue reading “A Twaddle-Free Education ~ Review”
Alpha-Phonics Workbook {Free}
Alpha-Phonics workbook free. There really is nothing more natural than teaching a child to read — much like we teach him to walk or talk — but we make it more complicated than it needs to be.
102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum
Back in the day … way back … Cathy Duffy had two books on the market that covered all (or nearly all) of the curriculum options available for homeschool families at that time. Folks, there just weren’t that many — I mean, you really could fit the whole of them in two 1″ volumes! Boy,Continue reading “102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum”
22 Ways to Love, Do & Think Every Day
Looking for simplicity? Use this three-pronged approach to building a better learner.
Natural Speller: Review & Helps
Natural Speller by Kathryn Stout is part of a series of books from Design-A-Study that help the DIY homeschoool Mom craft her own custom curriculum, focusing on going at the student’s pace, while working toward mastery. It is the only book you need to teach spelling from the time your child is reading well toContinue reading “Natural Speller: Review & Helps”
Drawing Made Easy {Free eBook}
Drawing Made Easy is another wonderful book by E.G. Lutz. I would classify it as the next step after What to Draw and How to Draw It. Subtitled A Helpful Book for Young Artists, Drawing Made Easy provides step-by-step detail with written instructions to help make the drawings better. After the preliminary information on whatContinue reading “Drawing Made Easy {Free eBook}”
Dinah Zike’s Foldables {Free}
Foldables or lapbooks are multi-dimensional graphic organizers useful for making concepts stick.
Self-Teaching Handwriting Course {Free}
Palmer course of handwriting has the goal of producing a student who can write legibly.
Arithmetic for Young Children {Free eBook}
How do we learn most things? By doing them. Then when we have that experience under our belts and have a familiarity with them, we are ready to “talk” about them. So it is with math. Before we can discuss abstract operations such as “addition” and “multiplication,” we need to have a hands-on experience withContinue reading “Arithmetic for Young Children {Free eBook}”
How to Write Clearly
There seems to be two main concerns among homeschool moms (besides the ever-present “how do I get all of this done”) — math and writing. Perhaps our anxiety in these two areas stems from subtle doubts about our own math and writing abilities. Our fears tend to drive us deep into the curriculum maze —Continue reading “How to Write Clearly”
Drawing for Beginners {Free eBook}
Drawing for Beginners by Dorothy Furniss is surprisingly robust for a beginner’s drawing book. After a few pages devoted to technical hints (principles of drawing with various mediums), the book jumps right into the subject at hand, suggesting a sampling of simple things to draw, and walks the reader through the process of drawing them.Continue reading “Drawing for Beginners {Free eBook}”
Drawing With Children {Review}
Drawing with Children was written for parents to enjoy drawing with their children, but the book can also be used for self-teaching.
Learn to Write the Novel Way: A Review
Carole Thaxton, co-author of KONOS Curriculum, has discovered an excellent way to encourage our children to write! Intelligent students are not excited about grammar drills UNLESS they see their meaning within the whole. In other words, the ingredients are not what make writing so exciting…Imagine your child writing a novel, a good novel, a novelContinue reading “Learn to Write the Novel Way: A Review”
Review: Who Should We Then Read?
Digging into the literature available and mining out the gems for our children is a never-ending and daunting task for the DIY Homeschooler. That is why we treasure those “Books About Books” that make our job easier. Who Should We Then Read? by Jan Bloom is one of these useful guides. The purpose of thisContinue reading “Review: Who Should We Then Read?”
